Atlanta Travel Guide

One of the best Atlanta travel guides, especially for families with kids. Complete with the best places to stay, places to eat and best places to visit in Atlanta Georgia.

A Guide to Atlanta, Georgia

As the capital of Georgia, Atlanta is a thriving city that houses the headquarters of companies like Home Depot, AT&T and Coca-Cola. It is also known as one of the busiest airport hubs in the world. The best time of the year to travel to Atlanta is spring and fall. The temperatures are mild and the flowers bloom in abundance in spring and the foliage changed to bright orange and red colors in the fall. Checked off early on my 50 before 50 challenge as I’ve been to Atlanta multiple times. However, I still find new things to do each time I visit. Here’s a list of my favorite things to see, do, and eat along with recommendations on places to stay.

How to get around Atlanta:

Although it’s a busy city, getting around by car is the best method. We always rent cars, so we can explore places outside the city as well. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is a system of buses and trains that offer access to major attractions and destinations in the city, including the airport. Each ride is $2.50 and there are discounts for multiple rides.

Where to Stay in Atlanta:

Airbnb

Airbnb has been my first love of housing accomodations behind staying with friends. You can find great deals on places, especially if you are traveling on a budget. If you never stayed in an airbnb, you should start here, and then read my own airbnb reviews here. It gives detailed reviews including things you don’t see in reivews on Airbnb.

Hotels

Courtesy of DoubleTreeHotel

If you aren’t comfortable with Airbnb, you can certianly find some great hotels that are located in the heart of the city. Although this can be a bit more expensive than an Airbnb, they are usually more centrally located to all the attractions and walking can be the best option. Although I found many entire apartments on Airbnb located downtown.

Where to Eat in Atlanta:

Terrapin Taproom is located next adjacent to the Sun Trust Park where the Atlanta Braves play baseball. Terrapin also houses the brew lab for making Terrapin beers. They offer tours of the brewery, but we did not. Instead we enjoyed great food and company.

Red Pepper Taquiera was a delicious Mexican restaurant. With indoor and outdoor seating, there’s no bad seating arrangement. We enjoyed a high top table next to a TV, yet we also can enjoy some outdoor scenery as well. Margaritas and beer flowed along with the chips and salsa. Of course we enjoyed some tacos as well.

Stats is a great sports bar and restaurant. A nice atmosphere for people who enjoy watching sports, but also elements and places that minimize the sports action. We were seated in a small section with a street view with only 2-3 other tables around. They was quite the chatter around, but not too noisy to where had difficulty following conversation at your own table.

Nancy’s Pizza is the same owners that first invented the stuffed deep dish pizza in Chicago! These slices of pizza give you a taste of Chicago in Atlanta. Tons of options and open late makes it one of the best places to stop by and enjoy some delicious food.

Known for being on Dinners, Drive ins and Dives, this small restaurant gives you a taste of true Southern breakfast. Everything is made in house and they try to let nothing go to waste. You won’t want to let any go to waste because it’s so good! But don’t take my word for it, go try it for yourself.

For all my coffee lovers, this is the place for you. A small rustic neighborhood coffee shop with a modern look and big flavor. Not only try their coffee, but their pastries too. They also serve sandwiches and salads as well.

What to Do in Atlanta:

This was definitely the highlight of our trip as this was the main reason for traveling to Atlanta this time. New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have always had a little rivalry so it was fun to be in Falcon territory being a Saints fan. BUCKET LIST CHECK! I am happy to say we made it out alive haha! But in all seriousness, the Falcons fans were came in contact we nice and respectful. We of course made jokes to each other but all in good fun and we would gladly go back again and of course welcome any of them to the Superdome.

I went to World of Coca-Cola as a kid when I visited for the 1996 Olympics and it is fun as an adult. Taste the different flavors, explore the history, visit the theater. Tons of things to keep you entertained for hours. I wish they had CityPASS when I was younger. My parents could have really used the savings since we went to most of these attractions.

[If you are in Atlanta for a few days and exploring these next few attractions, I suggest getting the Atlanta CityPASS. It’ll save you 40% compared to buying each one individually.]

A wonderful zoo full of exciting things. Not only can you see animals like lions, bear, gorilla, elephants, but there’s plenty of other activities that go on each day like a petting zoo, playground, carousel and train ride. You can also learn about conservation, foraging, and geocaching.

National Center for Civic and Human Rights is all about providing a safe space to explore the history of human rights and how it has evolved. With the history comes knowledge and these exhibits provide tons of information for you to learn and grow and maybe spark interest in advocating for certain rights in your area.

Learn about dinosaurs and nature here at the Fernbank Museum. With tons of indoor/outdoor exhibits, 3D movie screens, and special exhibits that are only around a limited time, this makes each visit special and unique for you.

If you are a football fan, then this should be at the top of your list! With over 3 stories, 5 themed galeries and over 50 interative exhibits to give you the most in depth information on college football as we know it.

Medieval Times is one of favorites! They are located in select cities across the US, but each one bring a different experience. This one isn’t quite in Atlanta but definitely worth the drive! It’s such a fun family friendly experience! Enjoy a feast while watching knights joust and see who claims the title of champion!

Get immersed into food and culture of Atlanta with this unique experience. Made up of a fierce group of girls whose passion is to teach through story telling of Atlanta’s culinary world. Choose between two different tours for your own foodie experience.

How to Save on Top Atlanta’s Attractions

CityPASS allows you some flexibility in your attractions. You get the chance to go to 5 of the attractions above for one low price.

Your pass will allow entry into the first 3 and then your choice on the last 2 :

World of Coca-cola

Georgia Aquarium

CNN Studio Tours

Zoo or National Center for Civic and Human Rights

Fernbank Museum of Natural History or The College Football Hall of Fame.

If you bought all of these you’d spend over $125 bucks. The CityPASS allows you to see 5 of them for $76 (adults) and $61(kids) plus tax. It seems like a big number but when you divide that by 5, it makes them approximately $16 for each adult ticket and $13 for kids. This is cheaper than entries into a few of these attractions. It’s something to think about, especially if you in Atlanta for more than 3 days.

I love it especially for families with kids because it helps establish a schedule if you are parent that flies by the seat of their pants. It’s also has most of the family friendly attractions that you would be visiting anyway. Even if you only visit 3, you’d get your money’s worth.

I hope this has been helpful to you! Have you visited Atlanta? What’s your favorite thing to do?

This is a great, detailed, post about Atlanta! I haven’t been there but the restaurants look amazing – especially the craft brewery! My husband and I are a big Seattle sports fan so we hope to make it to Atlanta to see one of our teams play there. I’ve pinned your post for when we do make it to Atlanta!